36 ENGLAND
taken together. Such, for example, are Mathematics
and Advanced Mathematics, and Mental and Moral
Philosophy; while Latin and Greek, Roman and
Greek History, are all four usually offered together,
and almost everybody who offers English History
tries also General Modern History.
Nature of the Subjects
The selection of subjects by the candidates is inter-
esting. Everybody tries English Composition, be-
cause he can be sure to count something upon it;
and almost everybody offers Political Science, because
he thinks he can get some credit in it on the strength
of his general knowledge. At least two-thirds
of the successful men offer Latin and Greek. The
proportion was larger formerly, but has diminished
somewhat of late years. More than half of the rest
offer Mathematics; but Mathematics and Classics
are naturally rarely offered by the same man. About
three-quarters of the men try General Modern His-
tory, and nearly two-thirds Political Economy. Only
about one-third offer English History, because the
questions are largely upon constitutional matters. A
fair number select French and Philosophy; German
and Law are less commonly taken; few offer Physi-
cal Science; and Sanskrit and Arabic are offered
only by Natives of India.
It will be observed that none of these subjects has
any direct bearing upon the future work of the Indian
official. They are all tests of general education; that